From 1 Samuel 13:1-15 Shawn shows how Saul did not have the right heart. When the chips were down he explained away his unbelief. In contrast, David repented. In Chapter 7, under threat of attack by the Philistines, Samuel waits and offers a sacrifice. God answers with thunder and the ensuing rout of the Philistines brings peace for 20 years. Now Saul, again under threat of war with a vastly superior Philistine army, is asked to wait 7 days for Samuel to lead the sacrifice. But, does he wait? No, he offers the sacrifice himself and then seeks to justify his sin. The result was the decapitation of Israel. To emasculate the Israelite power, the Philistines prohibited blacksmiths in the land so much so that the Israelites even had to ask their overlords to sharpen their scythes.
